WCBU Newscasts - 6:04am 7-6-2026

From the WCBU Newsroom, I'm Rich Drager. U.S. Senator Dick Durbin says a housing bill is likely to become law even though President Trump is holding it hostage. The President is refusing to sign what's called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act until Congress acts on his voting security bill. During a stop in central Illinois, Dick Durbin told reporters there's too much bipartisan support for the measure that has elements even the president supports. We've reached a point in this country where the average age of a person buying a home is over 40. That tells you what a hardship it is to come up with the money for a home in America these days. Dick Durbin says he believes the best part of the bill is a limit on big corporation's efforts to buy up single-family homes. The former sheriff's deputy convicted of second-degree murder for the fatal shooting of an underarm Sangam and County woman is asking the state to release him from prison on medical grounds. Capitol News, Illinois reports 32-year-old Sean Grayson has filed for release under the Joe Coleman Act. Under the act, a person in custody who is terminally ill or medically incapacitated could be considered eligible. His attorney told the judge at sentencing, Grayson has stage 4 colon cancer that spread to his liver and lungs. Grayson is serving a 20-year prison sentence. for the killing of Sonia Thomas Massie in 2024. Local offices of the Farm Service Agency lost 12% of county staff in Illinois. That's on top of a 20% cut to its federal workforce. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition filed an open records request for the data. Duncan Orlander with the group says losing county staff is a problem because they're hired locally to help farmers directly. If you need a loan, if you want to expand your operation, if you need to buy a new piece of equipment, if you need a loan to be able to buy seed for that season. The group is concerned. concerned that the presidential budget request recommends less money for farm service staff. A pandemic-era bid to support restaurants and bars will permanently become a part of Illinois law. The law signed by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker indefinitely lets restaurants and bars offer pickup or delivery of mixed drinks and single servings of wine starting Wednesday. Drinks cannot be delivered by services like DoorDash or Grub and must be in a sturdy sealed container with no openings. I'm Rich Drager. Each story you hear on Planet Money starts with a question. What happens if we refund tariffs? Why are groceries so expensive? At NPR, we stand for your right to be curious because the forces shaping our world can be hard to see. Follow NPR's Planet Money wherever you get your podcast and start seeing how the economy really works.